


Shadow of a Successor

by rhodrymavelyne



Category: Witchblade (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 18:46:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15955301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhodrymavelyne/pseuds/rhodrymavelyne
Summary: An old flame of Kenneth Irons, a Pretender who once wore the Witchblade appears to warn him. Just as he plots to supplant Sara Pezzini, the Witchblade may be plotting to supplant him...





	Shadow of a Successor

**Author's Note:**

> Dominique Bouchier was introduced in the first season TV episode Conundrum. This is an event which happens during Convergence, the first episode of the second season when Irons and Nottingham are on the roof, examining the roses. 
> 
> I don't own Witchblade, but sometimes it owns me. (wry grin) This story is based on the TV series with Yancy Butler...and Anthony Cistaro. I really enjoyed the characters of both Kenneth Irons and Dominique Bouchier.

“Ken.” Silent as a shadow she moved toward him. “You always loved roses.” A faintly mocking smile touched Dominique Bouchier’s thin lips. “A charming touch of the feminine in one so steeped in patriarchal power.”

Ian Nottingham moved to stand between his master and his old enemy. 

A slight nod from Irons stopped his son in his tracks. 

“Dominique.” Kenneth rose to his feet and regarded his former lover. “What brings you back to me?”

“A pointless desire to warn you against your own folly.” Dominique studied Ken from beneath the broad, beaded brim of her hat. “Just as you seek to supplant Sara Pezzini as wielder of the Witchblade, the Witchblade seeks to supplant you.”

“Wielders come and go. You of all people you should know this.” Kenneth offer the Pretender an equally thin lipped smile. “I, on the other hand, am not so easy to replace.”

“Yet a young man, barely a boy is rising to prominance in this very city as a collector of objects of power.” Dominique cocked her head to one side in mock questioning. “Does this sound familiar?”

The image of a pale face, surounded dark, curling hair, with their sultry, heavy lidded eyes and full lips, almost like something out of a Caravaggio, filled Kenneth Irons’s mind. Only this one was no mere painted image. 

“I’m aware of Gabriel Bowman. How could I not be?” The smile died on Kenneth Irons’s lips. “Indeed, I’ve been watching him, cultivating his associates. I considered taking the boy himself under my wing, but I was curious what he’d accomplish on his own.”

“So you’ve let him be. Uncultivated. Uncontrolled.” Dominique twisted her own mouth into a grimace. “Ah, Ken, I forget what an arrogant man you can be.”

“That was foolish of you, my dear.” Ken shot a sly glance at his son as well as his former love. “I thought you knew me better than that.”

“You look down on everything from a lofty height.” Dominique waved a gloved hand from Kenneth and the roses to the edge of the roof, the diamonds on her wrist sparkling. “It leaves you blind to the dangers lurking below.”

“And you, my dear, are still a woman whose ambition exceeds her grasp.” Ken gave Dominique a sly tilt of the head, an intimate nod. “Perhaps this is why we could never satisfy each other, you and I.”

“Arrogant, indead, yet you’ve still kept your charm over the years.” Dominque clucked her tongue, a breathless marvel at this, along with a mockery. “Which is why I’m warning you of the danger you’re in, no matter how little you deserve it.” The fashion guru turned, only to glance over her caped shoulder. “Don’t fill your vision with supernatural goddesses to the point that you miss your successor’s shadow, creeping up on you.”

Kenneth spun away from her to face his roses, so much lovelier than any woman and always more soothing. 

Dominique bowed her head in a grief Irons didn’t see, but Nottingham did. She walked away with shoulders a little more slumped, weighed down with memories she didn’t want but couldn’t bring herself to cast away. 

Nottingham watched her go. He opened his lips, only his father spoke first. 

“I appreciate your intelligence, my dear.” Irons leaned closer to the blossom. “Many a woman has crossed my path. Few could keep up with me as you did.”

Dominique didn’t turn around or pause. Nor did she give any acknowledgment of the compliment. She smiled a little, not sure if Kenneth Irons could see it.


End file.
